About 20 minutes
The eater of souls — Context and Discussion
Fantasy Juvenile Worlds
4,405 recorded words. Selected by the catalog's stored reading-time estimate.
View Gutenberg source #75363
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Three of the shortest recorded reading commitments in this catalog. Times are estimates, not quality ratings.
About 24 minutes
Hooking a sky ride — Themes and Context
Adventure Picaresque Fiction
5,346 recorded words. Selected by the catalog's stored reading-time estimate.
View Gutenberg source #75098About 25 minutes
Radio razz — Context and Discussion
Science Fiction Utopias
5,649 recorded words. Selected by the catalog's stored reading-time estimate.
View Gutenberg source #74145Search stored excerpts and compare books → Choose by your preferences →
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Choices use stored catalog measurements. Estimates vary with reading speed. A shared category is a catalog label, not a claim that two books have the same argument or literary quality.
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Catalog snapshot checked: 2026-09-25. Coverage: 92 public books, 92 available source excerpts.
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Independent digital catalogue
The CUIEP Public Domain Literature Library – Free Classics
This library gathers 92 public-domain short story collections and anthologies, spanning humor, frontier survival, fantasy, and social observation. The four active categories—Adventure Picaresque Fiction, Fantasy Juvenile Worlds, Science Fiction Utopias, and Historical Psychological Social Fiction—are broad clusters rather than strict labels, and many works cross boundaries. Each record includes a descriptive note, keywords, and source attribution from Project Gutenberg. To sample the range, try one of three reading paths: humor and the unexpected, frontier and survival, or fantasy and the supernatural. These paths trace distinct tones, from bureaucratic satire to cosmic horror.
92 public-domain works132 represented authorsSource-attributed catalogue records
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Move through the collection by subject, historical setting and type of source.
01
Adventure Picaresque Fiction
A focused group of public-domain works connected by subject, historical context and recurring questions across the collection.
02
Fantasy Juvenile Worlds
A focused group of public-domain works connected by subject, historical context and recurring questions across the collection.
03
Science Fiction Utopias
A focused group of public-domain works connected by subject, historical context and recurring questions across the collection.
04
Historical Psychological Social Fiction
Works examining social customs, public institutions, biographies and everyday life in their historical settings.
Literature — Editor’s Selection
A concise group of works selected to introduce the subjects, source types and historical questions represented in this catalogue.
Newly Catalogued by CUIEP
Recently added catalogue records, listed with author information, thematic placement and links to the available work pages.
The land beyond the mist — Backg...
In Fantasy...
A knife in time — Reading Notes
In Science...
Crash dive — A Closer Reading
In Histori...
His brother's keeper — Inside th...
In Science...
Lukundoo, and other stories — St...
In Histori...
Dames — Background and Themes
In Histori...
The eater of souls — Context and...
In Fantasy...
Hooking a sky ride — Themes and ...
In Adventu...
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Public-domain status generally means that a source text is no longer protected by copyright in the relevant jurisdiction or has been released for public use. Rights status can vary by country and edition.
Catalogue records organize the author, title, edition and source information available for each work. Source links are provided where they are available.
Works are grouped according to their main subjects, historical setting, source type and their relationship to other records in the collection.
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CUIEP Catalogue
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This catalogue is organized using source attribution, bibliographic metadata, subject-based categories, and supplementary contextual notes. Submitted corrections may be used to update catalogue records.
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- Featured Altitude — Reading Companion Authors: Jamieson, Leland, 1904-19... In Adventu...
- Featured Especially dance hall women — Te... Authors: Ellerbe, Alma, 1871-, Ell... In Science...
- Featured The gallery gods — Reading Compa... Authors: Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975 In Science...
- Featured Rounding Cape Horn, and Other Se... Authors: McRoberts, Walter, Wright... In Adventu...
- Featured Short Stories of Various Types —... Authors: Freck, Laura F. [Editor] In Science...
Collections and books
Fantasy Juvenile WorldsScience Fiction UtopiasHistorical Psychological Social FictionAdventure Picaresque Fiction
View Gutenberg source #74145Featured Murder mask — Background and Themes Authors: Kramer, Edgar Daniel, 188... In Adventu...Featured Altitude — Reading Companion Authors: Jamieson, Leland, 1904-19... In Adventu...Featured Especially dance hall women — Te... Authors: Ellerbe, Alma, 1871-, Ell... In Science...